Need to restore PC to Factory Settings....I have no Restore Plus Disc. Help?

SHORT VERSION:

I have a Dell Dimension 5150 Tower that needs a Restore Plus Disc that I do not have. I can't restore it to factory settings on a brand new hard drive because I insert my WIN XP disc and it requires a Restore Plus disc. Can I get a restore disc somewhere online on Dell's site or am I SOL if I can't get in touch with the seller?



LONGER VERSION


So this is the situation. I bought a Dell Dimensions 5150 Tower from someone on craiglist and when I got it I noticed there were issues with it where I couldn't change the resolution on the monitor (when I plugged it to MY monitor that I already had, it was super tiny) without it basically changing the resolution, but shrinking the actual desktop image on the screen. so it would look like a Picture in Picture deal with the desktop and everything in the middle of the screen, surrounded by black.

So I decided I would re-install Windows XP on there (it's got XPSP3 as it is). I put my disc in there (I didn't get any software from him), and went to re-install by booting up with it, but it told me that it required a Restore Plus disc.

I have since replaced the hard drive in there with a 2 TB and figured I could just bypass all that noise and put my Windows disc in to boot up (after changing the boot order) and it said I needed the Restore Plus disc.

I got in touch with the guy and he brought me what he said was the restore disc, but instead it is a DVDR-DL of Windows XP. He basicaly fixes up computers and sells them, so I imagine he hands out a lot of burned discs or whatever. Legalities aside, just wondering if i can't get back with him (he hasn't responded for a few days, but I'm not worried as he's been very amenable so far and seems to really want to help me fix this situation), is there a way to acquire a copy of the Dell Dimension 5150 Restore Plus disc?

Does ANY Dell Restore Plus disc work for it, or does it have to tie in to the 5150 Dimension Tower?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! thank you.

Quote from QuoVadimus : So I decided I would re-install Windows XP on there (it's got XPSP3 as it is). I put my disc in there (I didn't get any software from him), and went to re-install by booting up with it, but it told me that it required a Restore Plus disc. .

I have never seen a computer that I couldn't install from an install disc.
Something seems wrong here.
You insert your XP disc, then boot up from it, then what happens next?

Quote from RockySosua : I have never seen a computer that I couldn't install from an install disc. Something seems wrong here. You insert your XP disc, then boot up from it, then what happens next?

Okay so there's a slight mixup in my recall of things. I just booted up the PC with MY copy of Windows and apparently I got this from someone online and it was part of a restore system or whatever. When I popped it in it said that the system OS was shipped with a restore disc thing and to insert that to validate it.

So I took it out and put in the disc that the seller gave to me (the DL disc that turned out to have XP on it) and when I turned off the system and then booted it up with that disc in, it then reads "No boot device available - strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for Setup Utility"

When i go into setup utility it has the following boot order

1. Onboard or USB CD-ROM drive
2. Onboard SATA Hard Drive
3. Onboard or USB Floppy Drive (Not Present)
4. Onboard IDE Hard Drive (Not Present)
5. USB Device (Not Present)

You sure the drive is capable of reading dual layer DVDs?

Sidenote: XP is small enough to go on a cd, not sure why a disc with 12x the capacity was used.

Quote from QuoVadimus : I just booted up the PC with MY copy of Windows and apparently I got this from someone online and it was part of a restore system or whatever.

?? What does this mean

Quote from prozac4312 : You sure the drive is capable of reading dual layer DVDs? Sidenote: XP is small enough to go on a cd, not sure why a disc with 12x the capacity was used.

Good point on both accounts. Reached out to the seller again. hoping I can get this fixed.

Thanks for your help. I'll update this when I hear back from the seller.

Quote from repitall : ?? What does this mean

Sorry if I wasn't clearer. The guy I got the computer in question from gave me no software.

the XP that i had I had acquired a year or so ago and it was part of an HP Recovery set. So when I tried to use it, it told me I had to verify the restore disc before it would let me install it.

Are you saying you are trying to use an HP restore disk on a Dell? Its not a Windows XP disk?

Quote from repitall : Are you saying you are trying to use an HP restore disk on a Dell? Its not a Windows XP disk?

The HP Restore package came with two discs. A Restore Plus disc and a copy of Windows XP.

I wanted to install Windows on the new computer (and brand new blank hard drive that is now in it) by using the only copy of windows that I possess. That copy is Windows XP which I got as part of an HP Restore package for an older computer that I had.

I figured I would install the Windows and then when it asked me for a key, I would use the key that is on the side of my computer that I just got. The COA sticker or whatever is on the side that has the product key.

However it would not let me do that, because when I tried to boot up into the Windows XP Setup, it told me to validate it by inserting the Restore Plus disc that was part of that Windows Package.

When I did THAT it gave me an error and said couldn't find the NTLDR.

Guess I'll just need to get a fresh copy of Windows XP (as I despise Vista and 7 and am not even going to bother with 8)

Quote from QuoVadimus : The HP Restore package came with two discs. A Restore Plus disc and a copy of Windows XP. I wanted to install Windows on the new computer (and brand new blank hard drive that is now in it) by using the only copy of windows that I possess. That copy is Windows XP which I got as part of an HP Restore package for an older computer that I had. I figured I would install the Windows and then when it asked me for a key, I would use the key that is on the side of my computer that I just got. The COA sticker or whatever is on the side that has the product key. However it would not let me do that, because when I tried to boot up into the Windows XP Setup, it told me to validate it by inserting the Restore Plus disc that was part of that Windows Package. When I did THAT it gave me an error and said couldn't find the NTLDR. Guess I'll just need to get a fresh copy of Windows XP (as I despise Vista and 7 and am not even going to bother with 8)

All you need to do is find a Dell branded XP disk in the same flavor as the one your license key (it should be a sticker on the computer somewhere) corresponds to. Dell was good enough to send OEM XP disks to anybody who bought a Dell computer. The guy who sold you the computer, if he works on Dell systems, should have a bunch of them. If he can't give you one ask around, you should be able to find a friend with a Dell who has XP or XP Professional. The most important aspect is that it is a Dell branded disk, and it is the same version of Windows XP (Home or Professional) as the original license on your computer.

As long as you have a Dell branded XP disk that is the same as your license it will install easily and not even require you to re-enter the license key. You will need to download all the drivers for your system, but they are easily found by going to www.dell.com/support and inputting your service tag number, a 7 digit code ending with the number 1, also found on a sticker on your system.

I do this all the time - if you have any questions or need help with the drivers feel free to PM me.

A full copy of Windows will not have any restore settings, etc. on it. It will allow you to do a full install (clean install) or an upgrade (depending on the version of Windows). You should be able to insert the disc and completely install a clean copy of windows with no issues at all. Otherwise, it is not a windows install disc but rather a restore disc.

fyi, the disc from the HP will not work on the dell =]

just about any dell restore disc should work as dell restore disc check for a dell bios and dont even ask for a the key,

In short, everything is normal here, except for using the wrong discs.

Okay, update now FROM THAT PC! YAY! *balloons falling from ceiling*

So it turns out the problem wasn't the disc that he had given me (the XP disc), it was the DRIVE. The DVD burner was busted. The person who sold me the PC didn't replace it, of course, so I went and had to get a SATA drive plus an adapter because the motherboard connector thing was IDE.

So now I got it all working, and finally don't have to deal with this crappy laptop I had.

I DO have one new issue though, although it's not a huge thing. IT's driving me crazy though.

I set up Windows on the PC and when I finished, it defaulted my 2TB hard drive onto "Drive H" while C, D, E and F were all listed as "Removable Storage". However when I click on those it gives me an error message saying there's no drive there.



How do I change my HD designation to C and remove all those others from my system?

Thanks for the help!

Quote from QuoVadimus : Okay, update now FROM THAT PC! YAY! *balloons falling from ceiling* So it turns out the problem wasn't the disc that he had given me (the XP disc), it was the DRIVE. The DVD burner was busted. The person who sold me the PC didn't replace it, of course, so I went and had to get a SATA drive plus an adapter because the motherboard connector thing was IDE. So now I got it all working, and finally don't have to deal with this crappy laptop I had. I DO have one new issue though, although it's not a huge thing. IT's driving me crazy though. I set up Windows on the PC and when I finished, it defaulted my 2TB hard drive onto "Drive H" while C, D, E and F were all listed as "Removable Storage". However when I click on those it gives me an error message saying there's no drive there. How do I change my HD designation to C and remove all those others from my system? Thanks for the help!

This is typical for computers that feature a memory card/usb reader on the front of the machine. Those are the "removable" drives and they show as drives but when you click them are empy because they are actually empty.

The windows install, installs to C: I believe but then Windows assigns the local disk letter behind the memory card reader.

To solve this problem I've actually disconnected the cabling from the motherboard that runs to the memory card reader on the front of the machine (it's usually 1 or 2 cables easy to follow) then I've proceeded with the windows install.

Once you have windows up and running, shut it down, then reattach the cables and on the next windows boot it will automatically install the memory reader but will this time assign the drive letters differently.

You can run into issues down the road if your local disk c: is not c: but another letter. Some programs/patches out there default to installing to the c: and if it isn't c: they won't install You will need to reinstall windows again and leave that memory reader disconnected.

PS: ^^ The above is for beginning this process. I believe you can also change the driver letter via Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management > right click the drive and select "Change driver letters + Paths"... It may also giving you warnings about programs not working. I am also not sure how this affects the current installation.